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Cloud · head to head

K3s vs Koyeb

K3s logo

K3s

Cloud

Lightweight certified Kubernetes distribution in a single binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

High-performance serverless infrastructure for APIs, inference, and databases

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only K3s has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: K3s the SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity; Koyeb pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • They diverge on capability: K3s covers Single binary, Koyeb covers Serverless containers.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which K3s and Koyeb actually diverge.

Attributes where K3s and Koyeb differ
AttributeK3sKoyeb
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, ARM, Self-hostedWeb, CLI, API

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in K3s

  • Single binary
  • SQLite by default
  • Certified conformant
  • Batteries included
  • Low resource footprint
  • Simple install

Only in Koyeb

  • Serverless containers
  • GPU support
  • Global distribution
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Zero-downtime deployments

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

K3s

  • Kubernetes on edge sites and IoT hardware where full clusters will not fitnot Koyeb
  • Development and CI clusters that must start fast and cost nothingnot Koyeb
  • Small production clusters where full Kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifiesnot Koyeb
  • Teaching and learning Kubernetes without cloud spendnot Koyeb

Koyeb

  • Deploying AI inference models globally with GPU accelerationnot K3s
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot K3s
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot K3s

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

K3s

  • The SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • Bundled components such as Traefik are opinionated defaults that larger teams often strip out and replace
  • Removed in-tree cloud provider integrations mean cloud-specific features need external controllers
  • Aimed at small and edge clusters, so very large deployments are better served by a standard distribution

Koyeb

  • Pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • GPU compute is expensive at $0.75-$2.50 per hour
  • Limited customization for infrastructure configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

K3s

Free
  • K3sFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Koyeb

$29/month
  • Pro$29/month
    • $10 included compute
    • 10 users
    • 100 services
  • Scale$299/month
    • $100 included compute
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 services
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom resources
    • SSO/RBAC

Which should you pick?

Choose K3s if

  • You need single binary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
  • You also want sqlite by default.
K3s review

Choose Koyeb if

  • You need serverless containers.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want gpu support.
Koyeb review

Questions people ask

Is K3s or Koyeb better?
Neither clearly leads. K3s starts at Free and Koyeb at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, K3s or Koyeb?
K3s has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for K3s and $29/month for Koyeb.
Does K3s or Koyeb run on more platforms?
K3s runs on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted. Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API.
Can I use K3s for free?
Yes. K3s has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Koyeb starts at $29/month.
What is K3s best used for?
K3s is most often used for kubernetes on edge sites and iot hardware where full clusters will not fit, development and ci clusters that must start fast and cost nothing, small production clusters where full kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifies, teaching and learning kubernetes without cloud spend. Of those, kubernetes on edge sites and iot hardware where full clusters will not fit and development and ci clusters that must start fast and cost nothing are not what Koyeb is typically brought in for.
What can K3s do that Koyeb cannot?
K3s covers Single binary, SQLite by default, Certified conformant, Batteries included. Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

K3s: Is K3s free?

Yes. K3s is open source with no licence fee. SUSE sells commercial support around Rancher separately.

Koyeb: What are Koyeb's subscription plans?

Pro plan is $29/month with $10 included compute, Scale plan is $299/month with $100 included compute and 99.9% SLA, and Enterprise starts at $1,000/month with unlimited users and 99.99% SLA.

Source
K3s: Is K3s real Kubernetes?

Yes. It is CNCF-certified conformant, so standard manifests, kubectl and Helm charts work without modification.

Koyeb: How much does GPU compute cost?

GPU pricing is per-second: RTX-A6000 costs $0.75/hour, A100 costs $1.60/hour, H100 costs $2.50/hour, and 8x H100 costs $20.00/hour.

Source
K3s: Why is K3s smaller than Kubernetes?

It strips legacy, alpha and in-tree cloud provider code, packages everything as one binary, and defaults to SQLite instead of etcd.

Koyeb: What database options are available?

Koyeb offers serverless Postgres starting at free (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) up to 3XL at $1.28/hour with 8 vCPU and 32GB RAM. Storage costs $0.50/month per GB.

Source
K3s: Can K3s run in production?

Yes, and it does, particularly at the edge and for small clusters. For a highly available control plane you need to move off the SQLite default to etcd or an external datastore.

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